Reflections

Mother's Day was observed both here in the U.S. and in Mexico. My mother passed away almost 19 years ago. This is the time I remember her the most and it would have been nice to see her again. I imagine it will be when I go to the great beyond. She was always the one I've turned to when I was having many problems or when I got into trouble. She was always there. I remember the vacation trips, the Christmas dinners, Thanksgiving at Uncle Billy's. It is a time I can never get back. I miss it. But, for me, I still have my father, and I ate Mother's Day dinner with him. Also, I celebrated Mother's Day for all of those who still have mother in their lives and for the mothers themselves. It is best to hold on to your mother as much as you can while you sill have her in you life. Without her, it will take a long while to recover and to live life normal again. She fills that empty void. She's the fabric that keeps the family together. Because the family I am part of now are mere satellites anymore. They are broken apart, even while we still have father and this is unfair to father. Please, do not ever let Mother's Day be a sad occassion and while you still have her, be with her on that day. Do more than write a letter or send a card. Take the time to be with her when you have the chance!

Islam Day proclaimed in Hawaii

I am afraid Hawaii made a big mistake. Too many Americans misunderstand the religion and when they think about Islam, they think about al_Qaida and the Taliban. It is a mistake for the state of Hawaii to pass this resolution to celebrate this day this coming September. Already, many Hawaiians are expressing outrage over this and the loud right-wing talk show hosts are already yelling and unfortunately, this is where many evangelical Christians get most of their information nowadays if anyone would call it that. Many of them will go to church on Sunday and hear about what Hawaii did and then, put the blame on Democrats and Pres. Obama for not protecting the country and for not looking out for our best interest. It is a bad call for Hawaii although it was for good intentions; to inform Americans about the history of Islam and the contributions Muslims have made throughout history. But, all of this will be thrown out of the way and what we will hear instead is more hate and disgust and more about 9/11, something the American people will never get over, blaming many innocent people for what a few jerky guys did and killing themselves while doing it. Also, concerns for religion and state separation has been violated by this act. What if they wanted a National Catholic Day or a National Protestant Day, or a Hindu Day? How about a Sikh Day?

On Michael Savage

I have just read on the Rude Pundit blog that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will not let right-wing talk show host Michael Savage into their country. Reason: He fosters extremism and hate. Well, indeed he does. He scapegoats Mexican citizens as the blame for the Swine flu as it has been called. He calls people all kind of names. He calls Rosie O'Donnell "Rosie O'Dumbell", He calls anybody left of center "red diaper, doper babies." The UK will not let him in as a result. Hmm..I wish there was a way to kick him out of these United States of America! There's no telling what he calls President Obama. I haven't listened to his show for years, and from the looks of it, I haven't missed anything from it.

Not a Happy Cinco de Mayo

I can't wish everyone a Happy Cinco de Mayo, because we know it's not. The H1N1 virus, the shutting of tourism in Mexico, life as we know it shut down in Mexico; so, as a result, this is not a Happy Cinco de Mayo in Mexico and/or here in the United States.
So, no wish for one this year. I have a Spanish blog I've just started last month and it is a shame to not wish everyone reading a happy Cinco de Mayo. No historical reference to it; nothing. But, maybe next year I will get the opportunity to do so.

The Hong Kong Affair

Seventy Mexicans have been picked out in Hong Kong and quarantined in a locked-up building in Hong Kong, China. I write about this because it seems to me that the Chinese decided to single out an ethnic group of people visiting China in concern over the spread of the H1N1 virus. Do all of these 70 individuals have this flu? Or were they just singled out because the virus came out of Mexico? I heard that the virus originated in Veracruz, Mexico. As the saying goes in Mexico, "if it came through Veracruz, it came from somewhere else." Anything and anybody foreign in Mexico came through the port of Veracruz. The explorer, Hernan Cortez, landed in Mexico at Veracruz. This is a prime example that goes with the saying. The Mexican authorities are looking to get these 70 people back to Mexico. I would have to agree, the Chinese
were using discriminating measures against a group of tourists thinking they were preventing the virus from spreading. Where these Chinese authorities don't seem to get it is that the virus does not come from a pig or from an ethnic group of people just because the virus originated from there. You get it from the air like the average cold. And to prevent from getting it is to cover your mouth where you sneeze or cough and wash your hands regularly and thoroughly just like you would to prevent from getting a cold. What I hate to see is for people blaming a country and its people for it if someone comes down with it. Is it necessary to shut down Mexico's tourism industry over this? Would shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border be the thing to do? If these things are done, you can't keep it from spreading.

Religion and State Separation

The separation of church and state is really what made this country great.

In 1777, Thomas Jefferson drafted a bill to the House of Delegates of Virginia called "the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom." This bill was adopted by the Virginian legislature in 1786 after years of effort with James Madison's help. It was a bill that went beyond John Locke's policy of toleration and enacted complete religious freedom not only of all Christian groups but of all religious opinions whatsoever, including, in Jefferson's words, "the Jew, the Mahometan, and the Hindoo." One of the following reasons why he argued for religious freedom was because the "Almighty God hath created the mind free" and "free it shall remain." He spoke out against enforcing religious uniformity by "temporal punishments" or "civil incapacitations" because it was doomed to failure. He believed it was against God's plan through the influence of reason. He believed it was "sinful and tyrannical" to force a man or a woman to support a religion "which he disbelieves and abhors." He believed it was as foolish to penalize a citizen for his religious opinions as for his ideas of science or education depriving him of his "natural right." He thought the religious establishment was bad when it is combined with the federal or state government. A church was a "voluntary society," and a person "should be se free to go out as he was to come in."

In 1787, the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia for a constitutional convention.
They drafted a written constitution for the people of the USA. In that Constitution, there is only one specific use of the word religion and it is in Article 6, Section 3.
It states that all senators, representatives, members of state legislatures, all executive and judicial officers, both federal and state shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution. It also says "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

Lastly, Alexis de Tocqueville believed the people's fervor for God in the churches was what made America great. It was our religious freedom that made us great and he discovered that the clergy and the laity "all contributed the peaceful dominion of religion in their country mainly to the separation of church and state."

Archie Bunker Lives On

The character played by Carroll O'Connor lives on in our minds. At least, for some of us. I hate receiving spam mail. The more of I have, the more I would like to give up this use of technology. Some people from work received a spam mail containing a joke. It was very Archie Bunkereque. Someone makes this statement. "We will have a black president when pigs fly!" Now, we do have a black president. The conclusion is, "We now have a black president and we have swine flu." Some folks find this funny, but I'm not laughing. The mail was received by many at work and this joke is told throughout McCainland. Those who find it funny find Archie Bunker to be a bit old fashion and not actually a bigot. But, to this day, bigoted jokes are found to be funny and Vaudeville could just very well make a comeback in areas of the deep South and mountain West. TVLand still gets big ratings with re-runs like "All in the Family," but at the same time are concerned about an increasingly aging demographic who continues to watch their network, a part of Viacom.
Scapegoating Mexican immigrants with the swine flu seems to be the rule of day for Congressional Republicans and the Fox News Channel. A baby dies in the hospital and there are no condolences for the family of that baby who died from the H1N1 virus. I was told by a Fox News viewer that we will soon have virus cases here in Arkansas "because we have so many Mexican people with their relatives." As far as what I noticed, most of the cases are at one Catholic school in New York. None of them are Latino or Mexican nationals. Of course, no cases are found in Ark. so far. But, that don't mean we won't have. Some people still find that Chinese, Japanese, Dirty Knees, Look at These joke to be extremely funny. So much so, they fall off their chairs. I've seen this joke told by young Asians on YouTube. Now, I thought that may be funny. But, when I have seen it, my reaction was "WTF?!" So far, this message is written by a real meathead. I bleed my heart red with liberalism, or is it blue? And the Archie Bunkers out there are after our meathead president telling us who his nominee to the Supreme Court will be; "a left-wing activist judge." Roe v. Wade won't be overturned now! Gee, why didn't they turned it over anyway? Look who former Pres. Bush appointed. They could have dared to be different and overturned it.
They had the votes. Oh, it was just a political game the GOP was playing with its rightist base. This is who the Archie Bunkers of this country supports, but they never deliver. They hope the Dems will fail so that they can get back into power as they shrink to oblivion. All they left is the jokers who tell these jokes and an audience who listens to them.